FAQ's

The Distillery (FAQ's)

1. What spirits do you have?

We began our journey with our Family Bond series of hand-selected releases, which includes UAIS Irish Whiskey, Clan Colla Irish Whiskey 7-Year-Old, 11-Year-Old Blend, 13-Year-Old, 19-Year-Old, 20-Year-Old Amarone, 20-Year-Old Pedro Ximénez and Xin Gin. These special releases, although not distilled in Ahascragh, are partly matured, finished, and blended by us and bottled in our home in the West of Ireland.

2. Can I visit the distillery?

Absolutely! We offer three daily tours: standard tours at 12 and 2 pm, and a premium tour at 3 pm. Book your tour HERE. Each tour includes a guided experience of our operational distillery, showcasing our sustainability efforts, heritage, and the whiskey-making process. You'll also enjoy a tasting of our award-winning spirits.

On the standard tour you will receive UAIS, Clan Colla 7 and Xin Gin.
On a premium tour you will taste Clan Colla 11, Clan Colla 13 and Xin Gin, as well as this you will be given the opportunity to taste Ahascragh Newborn Spirit straight from the stills.

3. How is your whiskey older than the distillery?

That’s a great question! It is a common practice among distilleries to source whiskey from other distilleries while waiting for their own spirit to mature into whiskey. In our case, we have introduced our Family Bond series, which includes hand-selected releases with whiskey and gin sourced from Great Northern Distillery. These special releases, although not distilled by us, are partly matured, finished, and blended by us and bottled in our home in the West of Ireland.

4. How can you claim to have zero energy emissions?

At Ahascragh Distillery, we produce zero energy emissions as no fossil fuels are used to generate energy on site. We minimise emissions through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or technologies that capture and store emissions. For further details on our sustainability and how we’ve become Ireland’s first zero energy emissions distillery, please click here.

5.Where does all the whiskey go while maturing?

We run 24 hours a day 5 days a week and produce roughly 13 casks per day, this all adds up to about 10,000 casks of spirit maturing before the first cask is ready to be bottled! Like all distilleries we have a mix of onsite and offsite maturation houses that store the spirit while we wait for it to mature into Ireland’s first zero energy emissions whiskey.

6. Is the Distillery wheelchair accessible?

Yes, our distillery tours are fully accessible. We have a wheelchair lift enabling wheelchair users to reach the upper floor, ramps at all building entrances, and disabled toilet facilities on-site.

7. Where can I buy spirits from the distillery?

You can purchase our spirits on our website [here], where we offer nationwide shipping in Ireland. Additionally, our products are available in select bars, hotels, off-licences, and Supervalu stores. Find a local stockist HERE. For customers in the UK, our spirits can be ordered on Amazon UK. Visit our online store for CLAN COLLA XIN GIN and UAIS.

8. Can I invest?

Our fundraising process is now complete and we would like to thank everybody for their support in getting our distillery up and running. We are not currently selling founders casks. Casks are however available for purchase from ITW should you wish to invest.

9. What else is there to do in Ahascragh?

We always recommend a visit to our Old Mill Shop & Cafe while doing a distillery tour, here you can see some repurposed mill equipment from the distillery as well as enjoy a hearty lunch in a cosy environment.

Sustainability (FAQ's)

1. What does zero energy emissions mean?

Zero energy emissions means that there is no net release of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases during a specific process or activity. It involves minimising emissions through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or technologies that capture and store emissions.

At Ahascragh Distillery, we produce zero energy emissions as no fossil fuels are used to generate energy on site.

2. How can you claim to be an eco-distillery?

Our sustainability journey began with the restoration of a nineteenth-century mill in the village of Ahascragh. We repurposed this historic building to ensure that energy efficiency and renewable opportunities were maximised throughout.

We secured a SEAI Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland capital support grant as part of their EXEED Programme which has enabled us to integrate energy efficient, sustainable practices through each stage of our production process.

Through a novel means of thermal energy storage, combined with optimal heat recovery, our distillery can recycle energy that would normally be wasted. This makes the process more efficient than a conventional design. The innovative system achieves temperatures above 115° - which is a first in Ireland and the UK. This allows us to achieve a saving of 1690 tonnes of CO2 per year with a 40% reduction in cost over an expected lifetime of 20 years. Additionally, we are working on reinstalling the original mill water wheel onsite to integrate hydro-energy.

Accreditations:

We are proud members of Bord Bia’s Origin Green and our distillery has been certified as being 100% powered by renewable energy by Pinergy and Captured Carbon. Furthermore, we have received the following accolades:

SEAI Energy Awards 2023: Innovative Renewable Energy Deployment Award
The Spirits Business Awards 2023: Distillery Sustainability Award

Frequently asked question

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3. Is your packaging sustainable?

Our sourcing policy prioritises sustainable and locally sourced materials as much as possible. Although this often comes with an extra cost, we prioritise the quality and environmental credentials of our packaging.

The UAIS bottle is made from the most eco-friendly materials possible; 100% recycled glass from Spain and recycled paper for the label with a sustainable. UAIS has a biodegradable seal made from the cellulose of sycamore trees that is healthier and more sustainable than the single-plastic alternatives.

Unfortunately, we cannot currently source recycled bottles or biodegradable seals in the quantity we require in Ireland and so we source from companies in the UK, Italy and Spain who prioritise sustainable practices. We have committed to a goal to remove plastic from all of our bottle seals.

All labels are sourced locally from an Irish supplier in Dublin. With hand-applied labels, our Xin Gin bottle was designed to be reused, as it can be transformed into a stylish vase for flowers or candle holder.

All of our merchandise and point of sale materials are sourced within Ireland where possible.

Trusted Partners & Suppliers

Great Northern Distillery
Nedstar
Heterochem (botanicals)
Astatine
Organic Architects
Repak
Bord Bia
Estal Poligono(bottles & closures – recycled.
Vetro Elite (bottles)
VetreriaEtrusca (bottles)
Glass Innovations (bottles)
Viscose (biodegradable seal)
Bomar Aromatherapy (bottles)
JC Ribiero (bottles)
Swansea Enterprise Park (bottle closures)
Polsinelli (bottle closures)
Bottle Jar Store (bottle closures)
JJ O’Toole (packaging)
GPA Global (packaging)
Hsu Bor Colour & Printing (packaging)
Labeltech (packaging)

4. Is all of your energy produced on site?

In what is a first for the industry in Ireland, our distillery is powered by wind and solar energy driving our very high-temperature heat pumps. We source 70% of our energy from wind through Pinergy with the other 30% of our energy created on-site through solar power.

We worked closely with decarbonisation specialists Astatine LTD to ensure that energy efficiency and renewable opportunities were maximised throughout the distillery.

The technology installed on site has allowed us to deliver substantial reductions in the utility demands of the distillery, through a novel means of thermal storage, combined with optimal heat recovery within the process.

This has enabled us to recycle energy that would normally be wasted, making the process more efficient than a conventional design. The innovative system achieves temperatures above 115° - which is a first in Ireland and the UK (and probably the world – this is currently being verified).

 As a result of the process, we aim to achieve a saving of 1690 tonnes of CO2per year with a 40% reduction in cost over an expected lifetime of 20 years. In future we also aim to use hydro-energy by installing the original mill water wheel in the mill race which runs through the distillery.

5. While you wait for your first batch of whiskey to mature, where are you currently sourcing your whiskey from?

While we wait for our ‘newborn’ Ahascragh spirit to mature, we have introduced our Family Bond range of hand-selected releases with whiskey and gin sourced from Great Northern Distillery and other distilleries on the island of Ireland. These special releases, although not distilled by us, are partly matured, finished, and blended by us and bottled in our home in the West of Ireland.

6. A lot of water is used to distill spirits – how will your process be different?

We are very conscious of the amount of water which is used in the distilling process and so we have taken every step possible to minimise the volume. This starts with the fact that the water we use is sourced from our own two wells on-site. This will allow us to meticulously measure and monitor our water input and output.   

7. Where do you source your grain?

We take pride in our commitment to supporting local agriculture by sourcing all our grain exclusively from Ireland and prioritising local suppliers. This not only ensures the highest quality in our ingredients but also strengthens our connection to the vibrant agricultural communities in our region.

8. What measures do you take to minimise travel emissions?

At Ahascragh Distillery we are producing top quality spirits which can be enjoyed all over the world. We understand that transporting these products will generate travel emissions however and so we opt for sea freight which generates 47 times less greenhouse gases than air freight for transporting our products.

We also aim to do our bit more locally when it comes to travel emissions and so we have invested in hybrid vehicles for our sales team and have installed our own car charger powered by solar panels, contributing to a more sustainable and self-sufficient charging infrastructure.